Child-resistant stopper-type closure

ABSTRACT

A child-resistant closure for a bottle comprising a resilient plastic stopper having a top flange extending outwardly beyond the rim of the bottle. The open mouth of the bottle is fitted with a unique resilient plastic fitment which is permanently attached on the open rim of the bottle and includes an outwardly directed flange underlying the flange of the plastic stopper. The closure is opened by applying an upward pressure to the flange of the fixed plastic fitment, thereby deflecting this flange upwardly to initiate an upward or opening movement of the plastic stopper. Once the stopper is raised slightly in this manner, an adult can complete the removal of the stopper with normal finger pressure.

United States Patent Harbauer CHILD-RESISTANT STOPPER-TYPE CLOSURE [72]Inventor: Paul W. Harbauer, 232 E 5th st.,

Perrysburg, Ohio 43551 22 Filed: April 26,1971

21 Appl.N0.: 137,131

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1970 Lange ..2l5/9 10/1971 Linkletter ..2l5/9 Sept. 12, 1972 Primary ExaminerGeorge T. HallAttorney-Alan J. Steger et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A child-resistant closure for a bottle comprising aresilient plastic stopper having a top flange extending outwardly beyondthe rim of the bottle. The open mouth of the bottle is fitted with aunique resilient plastic fitment which is permanently attached on theopen rim of the bottle and includes an outwardly directed flangeunderlying the flange of the plastic stopper. The closure is opened byapplying an upward pressure to the flange of the fixed plastic fitment,thereby deflecting this flange upwardly to initiate an upward or openingmovement of the plastic stopper. Once the stopper is raised slightly inthis manner, an adult can complete the removal of the stopper withnormal finger pressure.

14 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures CHILD-RESISTANT STOPPER-TYPE CLOSUREBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a child-resistant,stoppertype closure for a bottle which incorporates a unique plasticfitment which prevents direct grasping and removal of the stopper.

There are presently available a wide variety of twopiece plasticclosures for bottles which are considered to be of the safety orchild-resistant type. Such childproofing devices heretofore haverequired specially constructed bottle caps or bottle necks, or both,which require extensive and costly changes in the packaging industry. Inaddition, there has heretofore been no such successful application ofthe child-resistant concept to a stopper-type closure. Thus, in order tohave a childresistant closure on a bottle, it has been necessary toselect one of the screw-on or snap-on type closures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of this inventionto provide a unique bottle closure of the stopper type whichincorporates a plastic fitment adapted to render the closure childresistant.

A resilient plastic stopper is taught by the subject invention toinclude a top flange extending outwardly beyond the rim of the bottle.The open mouth of the bottle is fitted with a resilient plastic fitmentwhich is permanently attached on the open rim and includes an outwardlydirected flange underlying the flange of the stopper. The outsidediameter of the outwardly directed flange of the plastic fitment isselected to match the outside diameter of the flange on the stopper.Thus, the outwardly directed flange on the plastic fitment hindersaccess to the flange on the stopper, thereby preventing removal of thestopper from the bottle. In order to remove the closure and open thebottle, an upward pressure must be applied to the outwardly directedflange on the plastic fitment to thereby deflect the flange on thestopper upwardly. Once the stopper flange has been deflected upwardly,it is possible to grasp it separately from the flange on the fitment tothereby facilitate the withdrawal of the stopper from the bottle. Otherobjects, features, and advantages will become obvious to those skilledin the art upon reference to the following detailed description of theinvention and the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view with parts broken away in section of theunique child-resistant, stopper-type closure of this invention asapplied to a bottle.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the plastic fitment of the closure ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the plastic fitment of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTIONReferring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a unique child-resistant,stopper-type closure, generally indicated by the numeral 10, whichincorporates the features of this invention and is applied to a bottle12. The bottle 12 may be of any suitable type formed from glass orplastic having a body 14, a neck 16, and a finish 18.

The finish 18 includes an interior surface or corkage 20, an annular rim22 forming its upper surface, and an annular retaining lug orprotuberance 24 formed around the outer edge of the rim 22.

The child-resistant closure 10 of this invention is comprised of twoseparate parts, namely, a plastic stopper 26 (shown in FIG. 1) and anannular plastic fitment 28 (shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3). The plasticstopper 26 incorporates a head portion 30 which terminates at its outerradial extremity in an enlarged flange portion 32 which extends beyondthe outer diameter of the rim portion 22 of the bottle finish 18. Thestopper 26 also includes an annular plug portion 34 which is adapted tobe inserted into the bottle 12 and fit snugly against the interiorsurface or corkage 20 of the bottle finish 18. Thus,the stopper 26 issimilar to standard such stoppers or plugs with the exception that itincorporates the enlarged flange 32 which extends well beyond the outerdiameter of the rim 22 on the bottle finish 18.

The plastic fitment 28 incorporates a flat annular head portion 36 andan annular skirt 38 depending downwardly therefrom. The annular headportion 36 incorporates an aperture 40 in the middle thereof which isadapted to allow passage of the plug portion 34 of the stopper 26therethrough. The annular head portion 36 of the fitment 28 terminatesat its outer extremity in a fitment flange portion 42 which has anoutside diameter identical with the enlarged flange 32 on the stopper26. The depending annular skirt 38 on the fitment 28 incorporates anannular retaining bead 44 which is adapted to snap under and is retainedby the lug or protuberance 24 on the bottle finish 18.

Thus, as can be seen in FIG. 1, the fitment 28 is placed over the bottlefinish l8 and pressed .downwardly until the lower surface of the headportion 36 rests on the rim l8 and the fitment retaining bead 44 snapsunder the lug 24 on the bottle finish 18. The fitment 28 is therebypermanently attached to the bottle 14 and is not removed therefromduring insertion and removal of the stopper portion 26. Once the fitment28 has been attached to the bottle 12 as previously described, thestopper 26 may be easily inserted into the bottle 12 with its plugportion 34 passing through the aperture 40 in the fitment intoengagement with the interior sealing surface or corkage 20 of the bottlefinish 18. When the stopper is fully inserted, the under surface of theenlarged flange 32 on the stopper will rest on the upper surface of the,head 36 of the fitment 28. Since, as previously described, the outsidediameters of the enlarged flange 32 on the stopper 26 and the retainingflange 42 on the fitment 28 are identical, the two flange portionsassume the coinciding adjacent relationship shown in FIG. 1.

The unique closure 10 as shown in FIG. 1 becomes virtually childresistant as will be understood from the following discussion. As thecombined flanges 32 and 42 are grasped in an attempt to remove thestopper 26 from the bottle 12, this movement is made impossible by thefact that the fitment 28 is permanently attached to the bottle finish18. Thus, the fitment 28 serves as a guard for the stopper 26 andprevents withdrawal of the stopper from the bottle when the flangeportions 32 and 42 are grasped and attempted to be removed together.

In order to remove the stopper 26 from the bottle 12, the user mustapply sufiicient pressure to the bottom side of the fitment flange 42 tocause the stopper flange 32 to deflect upwardly and lift the stopper 26slightly. Once the stopper flange 32 has been deflected upwardly out ofengagement with the fitment flange 42, the stopper flange 32 may begrasped separately from the fitment flange and with suitable adultfinger pressure the stopper 26 may be removed from the bottle 12.

It should be understood that the upper surface of head 36 of the fitment28 may be irregular so that a slight gap exists between fitment flange42 and stopper flange 32 to allow separate removal of stopper 26 bycareful insertion of a fingernail into the gap formed between theflanges. Additionally, the fitment flange 42 may have a portion removedto give direct access to the bottom of stopper flange 32 for separateupward movement of stopper 26. Neither of these adaptations would affectthe child-resistance properties of the closure which prevents directgrasping and removal of the closure.

Thus, it should be apparent from the above description that theutilization of an enlarged flange portion on the stopper and the uniquefitment which is permanently attached to the bottle finish results in astopper-type closure which is virtually child resistant. Since there aremany applications where a stopper-type closure is felt to be moredesirable than a screw-on or snap-on type closure, this inventionextends the use of a child-resistant or safety type closure to theseapplications.

I claim:

1. A child resistant closure adapted to sealingly close a rigidcontainer having a neck portion with an annular protuberance on itsexternal surface and terminating at its end in an annular rim definingthe periphery of an open mouth, said closure comprising, in combination:

a resilient annular fitment including a top panel having a centralportion removed therefrom to form an aperture, said top panelterminating at its outer extremity in a fitment flange, an annulardepending skirt formed integrally with said top panel, said dependingskirt of said fitment including an annular retaining bead on itsinterior surface adapted to be engaged by said protuberance on the neckportion of said container to hold said fitment in engagement with saidcontainer;

a stopper member including a head portion terminating at its outerextremity in a stopper flange, and a plug portion depending from saidhead portion and adapted to be inserted into the mouth of said containerthrough said aperture in said fitment top panel so as to be in sealingengagement with the interior surface of said neck;

and said fitment flange and said stopper flange being in substantiallyface-to-face juxtaposed relationship upon insertion of said stoppermember into the mouth of said container through the aperture in saidfitment top panel.

2. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidfitment flange and said stopper flange are of substantially the samesize and shape.

3. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidfitment flange and said stopper flange are each circular in shape andequal in diameter.

4. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the uppersurface of said fitment flange and the lower surface of said stopperflange are each flat so as to facilitate close face-to-face contactbetween said fitment flange and said stopper flange upon insertion ofsaid stopper member into said mouth through said aperture in saidfitment top panel.

5. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein a portionof the outer extremity of said fitment flange is removed, therebyproviding direct access to the lower surface of said stopper flange.

6. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the uppersurface of said fitment flange is irregular to provide a gap betweensaid fitment flange and said stopper flange upon insertion of saidstopper flange into said mouth through said aperture in said fitment toppanel.

7. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim I wherein saidcontainer mouth, said removed central portion in said fitment, and saidplug portion of said stopper member each have substantially the samediameter.

8. As an article of manufacture, an improved childresistant packagecomprising, in combination:

a rigid container having a neck portion with an annular protuberance onits external surface and terminating at its end in an annular rimdefining the periphery of an open mouth;

and a closure including a resilient annular fitment including a toppanel having a central portion removed therefrom to form an aperture,said top panel terminating at its outer extremity in a fitment flange,an annular depending skirt formed integrally with said top panel, saiddepending skirt of said fitment including an annular retaining bead onits interior surface adapted to be engaged by said protuberance on theneck portion of said container to hold said fitment in engagement withsaid container;

a stopper member including a head portion termin ating at its outerextremity in a stopper flange, and a plug portion depending from saidhead portion and adapted to be inserted into the mouth of said containerthrough said aperture in said fitment top panel so as to be in sealingengagement with the interior surface of said neck;

and said fitment flange and said stopper flange being in substantiallyface-to-face juxtaposed relationship upon insertion of said stoppermember into the mouth of said container through the aperture in saidfitment top panel.

9. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8 wherein saidfitment flange and said stopper flange are of substantially the samesize and shape.

10. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8 wherein saidfitment flange and said stopper flange are each circular in shape andequal in diameter.

11. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8 wherein the uppersurface of said fitment flange and the lower surface of said stopperflange are each flat so as to facilitate close face-to-face contactbetween said fitment flange and said stopper flange upon insertion ofsaid stopper member into said mouth through said aperture in saidfitment top panel.

flange into said mouth through said aperture in said fitment top panel.

14. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8 wherein saidcontainer mouth, said removed central portion in said fitment, and saidplug portion of said stopper member each have substantially the samediameter.

P040150 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N3,690,498 b t d September 12, 1972 Inventor(s) Paul W. Harbauer It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, insert Assignee Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of April 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. A child resistant closure adapted to sealingly close a rigidcontainer having a neck portion with an annular protuberance on itsexternal surface and terminating at its end in an annular rim definingthe periphery of an open mouth, said closure comprising, in combination:a resilient annular fitment including a top panel having a centralportion removed therefrom to form an aperture, said top panelterminating at its outer extremity in a fitment flange, an annulardepending skirt formed integrally with said top panel, said dependingskirt of said fitment including an annular retaining bead on itsinterior surface adapted to be engaged by said protuberance on the neckportion of said container to hold said fitment in engagement with saidcontainer; a stopper member including a head portion terminating at itsouter extremity in a stopper flange, and a plug portion depending fromsaid head portion and adapted to be inserted into the mouth of saidcontainer through said aperture in said fitment top panel so as to be insealing engagement with the interior surface of said neck; and saidfitment flange and said stopper flange being in substantiallyface-to-face juxtaposed relationship upon insertion of said stoppermember into the mouth of said container through the aperture in saidfitment top panel.
 2. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1wherein said fitment flange and said stopper flange are of substantiallythe same size and shape.
 3. A child-resistant closure as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said fitment flange and said stopper flange are eachcircular in shape and equal in diameter.
 4. A child-resistant closure asset forth in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of said fitment flangeand the lower surface of said stopper flange are each flat so as tofacilitate close face-to-face contact between said fitment flange andsaid stopper flange upon insertion of said stopper member into saidmouth through said aperture in said fitment top panel.
 5. Achild-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein a portion of theouter extremity of said fitment flange is removed, thereby providingdirect access to the lower surface of said stopper flange.
 6. Achild-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the uppersurface of said fitment flange is irregular to provide a gap betweensaid fitment flange and said stopper flange upon insertion of saidstopper flange into said mouth through said aperture in said fitment toppanel.
 7. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidcontainer mouth, said removed central portion in said fitment, and saidplug portion of said stopper member each have substantially the samediameter.
 8. As an article of manufacture, an improved child-resistantpackage comprising, in combination: a rigid container having a neckportion with an annular protuberance on itS external surface andterminating at its end in an annular rim defining the periphery of anopen mouth; and a closure including a resilient annular fitmentincluding a top panel having a central portion removed therefrom to forman aperture, said top panel terminating at its outer extremity in afitment flange, an annular depending skirt formed integrally with saidtop panel, said depending skirt of said fitment including an annularretaining bead on its interior surface adapted to be engaged by saidprotuberance on the neck portion of said container to hold said fitmentin engagement with said container; a stopper member including a headportion terminating at its outer extremity in a stopper flange, and aplug portion depending from said head portion and adapted to be insertedinto the mouth of said container through said aperture in said fitmenttop panel so as to be in sealing engagement with the interior surface ofsaid neck; and said fitment flange and said stopper flange being insubstantially face-to-face juxtaposed relationship upon insertion ofsaid stopper member into the mouth of said container through theaperture in said fitment top panel.
 9. A child-resistant closure as setforth in claim 8 wherein said fitment flange and said stopper flange areof substantially the same size and shape.
 10. A child-resistant closureas set forth in claim 8 wherein said fitment flange and said stopperflange are each circular in shape and equal in diameter.
 11. Achild-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8 wherein the uppersurface of said fitment flange and the lower surface of said stopperflange are each flat so as to facilitate close face-to-face contactbetween said fitment flange and said stopper flange upon insertion ofsaid stopper member into said mouth through said aperture in saidfitment top panel.
 12. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8wherein a portion of the outer extremity of said fitment flange isremoved, thereby providing direct access to the lower surface of saidstopper flange.
 13. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8wherein the upper surface of said fitment flange is irregular to providea gap between said fitment flange and said stopper flange upon insertionof said stopper flange into said mouth through said aperture in saidfitment top panel.
 14. A child-resistant closure as set forth in claim 8wherein said container mouth, said removed central portion in saidfitment, and said plug portion of said stopper member each havesubstantially the same diameter.